Following the tracks of Simon & Garfunkel the saturday was spent at the Prague Zoo.

The rest of the city was busy with some spectacle they called Half Marathon which left the Zoo as good as unpopulated and people-free, the threatening rain could also have something to do with it…

The Zoo is giant and a full day is almost needed to see all the animals, from penguins, lions, giraffes, polar bears and old ladies – I was almost expecting a breakout in the spirit of Madagascar. The animals were almost as fun as those at the Beijing Zoo – Not at all – they spent most of the time just lying around and sleeping… It might have been as good that I flirted my way inside with a student ticket…

It has been seven days, seven days since the snow disappeared and the spring came. Seven days ago we were dressed for the northern wind, with warm layers of clothing and ski goggles we stood up against the snow clad mountain side with bravery and a smile on our lips.

It snowed for four days and nights, each morning we awoke with the rising sun and with hopes of a day with a blue sky we could only hint above the grey clouds that filled the sky. The mountain stood tall reaching to and past the grey sky, its sides were clad in untouched powder snow, lying there all innocent just waiting to be reaped and sliced by the steel-edges of the skis and boards.

With sun in our thoughts and heat in our eyes, each morning we lit the fire for a breakfast together with porridge and many a laugh. Divided in experience and respect for speed we were a happy gang surviving the adventure not unhurt but a little bit bloodied and definitely looking forward to next time!

It was cold, snowy, the storm winds were blowing and we could not see more than a few meters ahead. We had not seen the sun for more than one hour in four days. Still we skied with a wide grin on our face and our screams of joy echoed among the mountaintops. Each morning we were waking up to a powdery mountain, filled with the new snow that fell during the night leaving the mountainsides untouched, the slopes filled with the white gold and not one man, woman or tourist had gone before us down the snowy slopes. Life was good.

From Prague, on the small and slippery roads the czech countryside passed us by in a blur. We passed houses of glass and houses of tree. A trip that should have taken six hours took us nine until we arrived in a snowy, slippery and dark Obertauern. Even though we had both GPS and maps…

We had a good time, the cool kids in the back and did not experience any crash – once it was close though. On a wet and slippery czech road in the dark of night, on top of a hill we met a car who all of a sudden decided to do a 180 crossing over to our side and down in the forest. It all went well – we survived unharmed.

A minivan for eight, and eight we were – seven of us sitting in divine silence as our chauffeur slowly and safely drove us uphill on the small, slippery and snowy road to Obertauern. With the mountain on one side and the cliffs on the other. We had snow chains as extra addition to our summer tires and it added to the excitement of the trip – as our tshirts said – we do our own stunts.

On a dark winter highway, with the wind in our hair and a cool smell of jäger rising up through the air. Up ahead in the distance we saw a shimmering light, our heads grew light as we approached Monkey Hut and Tanz Haus. We four youths took the car (Yes, of course we had a non-intoxicated designated driver) as the old people were sleeping. On our way up the hill we realized that a minivan and summer tires plus snow is a bad idea. We were stuck in the road close to a quarter being passed by F1 aspiring taxi drivers who took the hill down on two tires and passing us on the way up skidding past our car. Finally we caught up with our common sense and turned the car downhill pushing it the last bit as the wheels did not work properly when turning in snow.